Skip to main content

A Little Gathering Tutorial

Here is another video tutorial on how to make pretty gathers. We all have different techniques that we like to use and this is mine! I hope you enjoy it! If you don't learn anything maybe you will at least have a good laugh out of it! LOL! I really don't enjoy hearing myself on video!

Comments

Anonymous said…
I couldn't agree more with having two gathering threads. Not only do the gathers stand nicely at the seam, but it makes your day when a thread does break!
Unknown said…
Thanks so much for that.. I started to peak into sewing last week and it's a bit hard for me... this really will help me!

Cristhiane from California!
gatornic said…
What a nice tutorial! I gather a LOT (sewing for a girl will do that lol) and this actually helped me iron out a few kinks I've encountered. Thanks for taking the time out of your very busy schedule to make it!
Nicole
Anonymous said…
Thank you for the very helpful tutorial! I just found out that I'm having a little girl this summer, so I'm going to be sewing a lot of gathers in my future!
Katie said…
That was great! Your tips of pinning before gathering and the way you even them up with your swizzle stick are going to be so handy. Thankyou for sharing! Oh and I love your accent, so sweet.

Thanks again
Katie
Sarah said…
So did I see that right? Did you sew the regular seam through the middle of the two gathering seams? Genius! Thanks for the tutorial!
Anonymous said…
I think everyone hates how they sound on video. I have a very childlike voice. More than once when someone calls me on the phone, they ask, "Is your Mommy home?"

I received my pattern today. I'm going to start on it tonight. :)
Anonymous said…
Thank you so much!! I just finished cutting out all my fabric for my Miss Molly dress! What perfect timing! I was just telling my husband I wanted to order a gathering foot for my sewing machine, but now I don't feel like I need to:) And I can spend that money on some more FABRIC!! Gathers are so hard for me. I am so excited to try it out tonight. Thanks again!
Anonymous said…
thanks for the tutorial! it is so helpful! you sounds sweet ;)
Jaime said…
That was very helpful, that will make my sewing much better quality. I want more like this, I never had anyone to teach me sewing clothes so I just wing it. I was wondering what your tool was that you were using and you did finally say, a Shish-ka-bob stick, awesome, I am glad I don't have to go spend $10 on a special stick for sewing!
Samantha Caffee said…
*********************

Jamie,
What other techniques would you like to learn? I don't mind doing a video every now and then, but I would like to know what everyone could use the most.

xoxo,
Samantha

*********************************
Anonymous said…
Great tutorial! I learned some good tricks. Thanks for taking the time!
What is next? hahah! It is so helpful sometimes when you can really see what your doing.
Thanks so much!
jenn
Anonymous said…
AMAZING!! Thanks for the tutorial! Great timing as I've been trying to gather evenly with sad sad results. After watching your tutorial just once I went to my machine and tried it. It worked perfectly, the first time!! I can't wait to use it in my daughter's next dress.
Molly said…
You would think after 10 years of sewing for 3 girls that I would have this gathering thing down, but I have found myself avoiding patterns with gathers and going for simpler styles lately. your tutorial has spurred me to try some again. Some of your tricks made me think, well, duh, why didn't I ever think of that?!?! :) It was so clear, concise and helpful! (And I loved hearing your kiddies voices in the background, so sweet!) And, by the way, I hate to hear myself on video, too. I always think, "That CAN'T be what I really sound like, can it?!" :) Thanks for posting this!
kris said…
great tutorial! i finally made a miss molly and kinda jacked up the gathering bit, so this will be super helpful for my next go! i love the pattern though, so great for even new sewers (i started sewing last may, when i decided that all of the trunk show clothes i was buying for my girl were pretty basic and stupid expensive, lol!)

(oh, and pics of the not-so-perfect miss molly are on my blog, thejohnsons78.blogspot.com, if you want to see, lol!)
Anonymous said…
Thank you so much for the clear clear and did I say clear instructions. I have read how to make ruffles and I tried it, only to get frustrated when my string would break. Now, I was able to make a dress and the ruffles are beautiful! Thank you again!
Jen
pfarmwife said…
And HOW, Samantha, did you know I was up at 3:00am sewing for the next day???? LOL!! I did that last year, the night before Resurrection Sunday because my darling little girl did all the kitchen work that day so mama could finish her dress. I was not about to let my sweet girl down. Of course, this year, my husband has graciously taken off from work the week before, so that doesn't happen again....I'd better go sew!

Warmly,
Stacey
Anonymous said…
Okay, you have convinced me to use two lines of stitching when making ruffles ;)
maribeth said…
thank you so much! i am a self taught sewer, so any help is greatly appreciated! i hate ruffles because i always wing the gathering. and, the gathers were always moving and then all ended up in one area. now, i know to smish it with something!! thank you again!!
Anonymous said…
That was great! I've gathered I don't know many things, but I've never done it that way. Thanks so much!
Anonymous said…
Thanks Samantha!
elizabeth said…
Wow. Thanks! SEW helpful! Ha ha.
jenny said…
great tutorial!
cnydalynn said…
Thanks for the tutorial. I would love to see something on sewing arms - I always have so much trouble with that. I don't know what I am doing wrong but I do mess it up every time.

Oh and I love the accent. I have one too so don't feel bad. :)
Serena said…
What a great tutorial! I tried your method on an Easter dress last night that I was working on, and it turned out perfectly! Thanks for sharing your expertise with us. I'm looking forward to seeing more of your tutorials.
Barbara said…
Great tutorial. Clear, easy to follow and you have a lovely, calm voice. I always struggle with gathers and wondered if there was a knack that I was missing. Better steal one of those sticks from the kitchen drawer and pop it in my sewing drawer for next time. Bx
Anonymous said…
What about a SEW ALONG FOR MISS MOLLY??? I can't seem to get it put together right. I have ripped the bodice and skirt apart 2x's so far and its still not right! I bought the most beautiful fabrics to make the dresses, but I'm afraid to use them. And I am dying to get them put together and see my little girl in them!
Jaime said…
I would love to see any video how to, but I don't even like following patterns, I just like to try something, so I don't even know how to put sleeves on. If I knew how to measure them out and the right way to put them on I think maybe I could come up with my own dresses for my girls.
Leah said…
This is a great tutorial! I do 2 rows of gathering stitch but just hap hazardly sew the seam down after I have mucked around forever pinning, gathering, repinning because they are not even! I have just made 3 dresses tonight and couldn't get on the net to rewatch this tute, so frustrating!!! But now I want to know your tips for when you attach a skirt (with front and back seams sewn already) to a bodice that has the front and back seams sewn already as well! Please please. Love your accent, made my husband appear from another room to see what I was watching! xthanks Samantha. p.s. there are a few of your dresses on my blog!
Tamarah said…
Thank you for your Tutorial. I am just a beginner and was getting very frustrated. I asked other sewers ( I work at Joanns Fabric) at work and they told me to stitch two lines and pull.... the thread would always break, which = frustration. Thank you again and hope to see more tutorials soon.
First time here.

Thank you so much for this video!!!

I would love if you could show how to make bloomers for under a dress. You may have already~I will go check ;)
~Amy
Alisha said…
This was very helpful!! I'm trying some gathering stitches out for a project!! Thanks for sharing!
Pinklilyblossom said…
Thank you so much for taking the time to share this. It was really useful.

I wish I had you to teach me to sewing all the time - I need help.

I'm definitely going to buy your pattern after this.
:-)
ezri.blue said…
Hi, I just found your blog today (and became a follower) because of a google search I did on how-to gather stitch. I just want to thank you SO MUCH for this tutorial; I am a complete novice and because of you I was able to finish my very first ever dress with skirt (similar to yours in your demo) for my 4yo. Thank you again, thank you thank you!!! :D :D
Anne said…
Thank you thank you thank you! Just ripped my gathering stitch. Now time to pull it all out and do two lines now! So glad I found you!
Andrea said…
Thank you! I linked to your tutorial in my own tutorial about making a little girls' nightie from a man's t-shirt.

I enjoy reading you!

Here's my tute:
http://northernlightsmama.blogspot.com/2010/05/my-first-tutorial-making-girls_17.html
Lola said…
Love the idea of sewing between the two gather lines. I'm new to sewing and I made a skirt for my daughter last week, the gathers gave me such grief. Hopefully next time with this technique it will go smoother! Thanks!!
FeatherBunkle said…
This is genius! I NEEDED this today--sewing miles of satin gathers for my 3 girls to be flower girls on Saturday. You are my new hero!
The Hills said…
Looks like I'm late to the party, but thank you so much for this video! I'm about to sit down to make a dress I promised for my niece. It's only 8pm, but hoping I'm not up until 3 and I think your tutorial will help! ;-)
Unknown said…
Please make a retro one piece swimsuit tutorial!!! I beg you!!!
ichliebecookies said…
Your accent is adorable! Thanks so much for the helpful tutorial!

Popular posts from this blog

New triple bunks.

Ben designed new bunk beds for the "girl's dorm" and "boy's dorm" in our house. We LOVE them!! We are almost done with all of the work, just a few loose ends left to tie up, but I couldn't wait to show off his handy-work. This is the girl set. We stained them with colored stain and we really like how that turned out. It's almost the color of cranberries. I still need to paint the boards that are attached to the wall. I'm going to paint them the color of the wall so that it looks like the beds are floating. :)  This is the boy set while still under construction. We ordered new bunk mattresses, but they haven't come in yet. I will show you guys pictures when they are completely finished. We stained these green, it looks like the color of bamboo. The kids LOVE these beds! And oh the space we have now! I'll be back soon with finished pictures! xo, Sam If any of you make beds using these plans could you send us a picture? We

The Handmade Dress Infomercial: Do you suffer from scrached DVD's?

Do your children cry when they can't watch their favorite movie because of irritating scratches? Are you sick of paying good money for movies that are scratched minutes after you take them from the case? Do you often wish that we could just go back to VHS because you could leave them out in the rain, bring them in and use them for a coaster, and then let the baby throw it for fun and it would STILL WORK!? ME TOO ! . We have struggled for years with scratched movies that were no longer watchable, but not anymore! We have finally found the secret formula to rid you of this nasty little problem forever! . Crest Kids Toothpaste! YES, that's what I said! Kids toothpaste! . A few months back I heard some place that toothpaste would take of scratches and I tried it and it didn't work, then the other day out of pure desperation I tried it my way. IT WORKED! So I decided this kind of news could not be kept secret, I have to tell the world! So I

The Family Closet

It's another gray day so the pictures aren't great, but I wanted to get these posted since I have a few minutes. The family closet has changed my life people!! It has taken my most overwhelming chore from crazy to totally doable. We had to start in the laundry room because that is were most of this process starts. These storage racks went on sale for 69$ right after Christmas and we got 3. We also got several of the $3.50 Steralite clothes baskets because they fit side by side perfectly. In the laundry room I now have baskets labeled (Whites, Towels, Darks, Reds & Purples -we have a lot of those!) to separate clothes into, baskets marked "Clean" for clean clothes, a place for storage (extra dish cloths, table cloths, socks that need a mate). The laundry room is much less intimidating now, I actually like going in there! I also now have room for my drying rack in here! I painted a huge henna design on the wall to pretty it up a bit. :) The Caffee sign